Coaxial connectors serve to releasably connect coaxial cables. Coaxial connectors are of coaxial design like coaxial cables, and they therefore have the advantages of coaxial cables, specifically low electromagnetic influencing and irradiation and also good electrical shielding and also an impedance that corresponds to that of the connected coaxial cable in order to avoid reflection phenomena at the transition point between the coaxial connector and the coaxial cable. In this case, a coaxial cable, also called coax cable for short, is understood to mean a two-pole cable of concentric design that has an inner conductor (also called core) that is surrounded by a hollow-cylindrical outer conductor at a constant distance. The outer conductor shields the inner conductor against electromagnetic interference radiation. An insulator or dielectric is arranged in the intermediate space between the inner conductor and the outer conductor.
Coaxial connectors are designed to provide a predetermined characteristic impedance, for example of 50Ω, in order to ensure reflection-free transmission of RF signals. The characteristic impedance of a coaxial connector depends, amongst other things, on the ratio of the inside diameter of the outer conductor and the diameter of the inner conductor. Therefore, electrical connection of a coaxial cable to a coaxial connector requires coaxial connectors that are matched to the respective inside diameter and outside diameter of the coaxial cable. However, this increases production and logistics costs, for example in the manufacture of prefabricated cable harnesses, since a multiplicity of different coaxial connectors have to be kept available for different coaxial cables. Coaxial connectors of this kind also have to satisfy different requirements in order on the one hand to establish good electrical contact and on the other hand to ensure sufficient mechanical stability. This leads to high production costs during manufacture of coaxial connectors of this kind.
If an outer conductor arrangement for a coaxial connector has a contact component for connection to a mating piece of the coaxial connector comprising a connection component for linking of an outer conductor of a coaxial cable, connection components for linking of outer conductors of a coaxial cable with different diameters have, however, adjusted outside dimensions. For example, a connection component for linking of an outer conductor having a first diameter has an outside diameter that is smaller than the outside diameter of a second outer conductor having a second, larger diameter. However, since the contact component is configured, for example, for connection to a connection component for linking of an outer conductor having a large diameter, when an outer conductor having a small diameter is linked to a corresponding connection component, good electrical and/or mechanical contact with the contact component is not provided.